


Incorrectly, yours

by Neo_Cults



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Basketball for like one scene?, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT) is Whipped, Renjun is the only normal one, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 20:02:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19448560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neo_Cults/pseuds/Neo_Cults
Summary: Mark was fine with the countless small papercuts, the occasional toe stubs and the numerous bruises he had to endure due to his common-sensically challenged soulmate, but this-The "never don't give up" tattoo was cutting it.Another soulmate AU where permanent marks appear on both soulmates and Mark is not happy about it.





	Incorrectly, yours

**Author's Note:**

> Warning; this is very self-indulgent. Also, Mark's eighteen again!

The soulmate thing was kind of dumb.

And also lowkey sadistic.

What was romantic about finding your other half through a series of matching bruises?

His own parents met when his dad got punched in the face and later met a lady sporting the same black eye on the subway.

Not exactly the fairytale introduction was it?

It was probably the concept of carrying the same scars which admittedly was a more thoughtful way to look at it. You’d have a partner who lived through your pain and worst times, therefore, strengthening the bond or whatever.

To Mark, well, it all sounded dumb.

From the time he found out about the bond back when he was five, he’s had the same impression about his soulmate- he was a total clumsy dumbass, and not in an endearing way either.

The number of paper cuts he had to endure on account of his idiotic soulmate edged on borderline torturous rather than romantic.

And how could he forget about the martial arts phase? He spent the entirety of middle school waking up to multiple cuts and bruises littered on his knuckles. The never-ending punches to the stomach weren’t that glamorous either. He had concluded it was due to training when he realized he’d receive hits at the same time every Monday to Friday. Unless he was being targeted by some extremely punctual bullies.

And the burn of those push-ups wasn’t unfelt by Mark who for once wished whoever was on the other side of the bond wasn’t such a fitness freak. Unfortunately, Mark only felt the pain and didn’t receive the benefits of the harsh workouts. He was fine with his physique though; he had no plans on applying for Mr. Korea anytime in the foreseeable future.

The only contribution Mark had made to their bond was the occasional stubbed toes and the ritualistic bruises he sustained due to bumping into sharp, pointy things. Which happened quite often, now that he thought about it. And also the one scar he had on his right shin which he got when he fell off his bicycle back when he was 8. He didn’t have much of an adventurous childhood like his soulmate presumably had, judging from the numerous small cuts he’s collected on his arms and knees.

The only thing Mark was able to gather from the limited information he had on his other half was that he was an idiot, had a tendency to get hurt, never learned to properly handle books and seemingly hated Mark and had a complete disregard for his well being.

It was a little disappointing, considering that most people find their soulmates by the time they’re eighteen, statistically speaking, and he’s spent an entire year searching for a sign of anyone bearing the same scars as he did.

He could do what the others were doing and post pictures of his most defining scar online and wait for a response from whoever carried the same scar, but the number of people having similar scars was ridiculous. And his soulmate in all probability was off climbing trees or jumping off cliffs.

Or much worse, Mark realized during Chemistry.

Mr. Jeon had been droning on about some kind of bonds, not the type that was on Mark's mind at the moment when he felt a sharp prick on his arm.

He bit the sudden yelp that threatened to come out of his mouth. Knowing his soulmate he knew that this wasn’t the worst of it, rather just the beginning of whatever the idiot is up to this time.

He got up from his seat, managing to hit the corner of the table. He felt the prick steading into a continuous movement, in lines across the inside of his left bicep. Holding himself back from muttering curses, he cleared his throat, “Mr. Jeon? I’m not feeling too well. Can I please go to the nurse's office?”

Cold sweat started forming at his temple, goosebumps appeared on his arms, he felt the ground sway underneath him.

Mr. Jeon turned away from the board, facing Mark. His eyes widened taking in Mark’s disheveled appearance. “You’re excused. Go quickly. Do you want someone to accompany you?”

Mark looked to his left, meeting Donghyuck and Renjun’s worried eyes. Donghyuck looked ready to jump out of his seat any second. He figured his best friend was going crazy with worry.

“Yes, I’d prefer it.” He admitted.

“Donghyuck. Help Mark up to the nurse’s office.”

Donghyuck shot up out of the chair and briskly made his way to Mark, placing his arm around his shoulder and helping him out of the room.

The second they were out of the door Donghyuck pounced on him the way a concerned tiger would. By that he means, Donghyuck jumped on him like a fucking animal.

“What has your dumbass soulmate done this time?” Donghyuck asked, with a glint in his eyes that made him look like he’s ready to kill.

Mark took a step back, “I don’t know dude. But my bicep hurts like hell.” He had a vague idea of what was happening to him but he prayed to every god he knew of, including Kendrick Lamar, that he was hopefully wrong.

Donghyuck raised a brow, “What biceps, noodle arms?”

Mark raised his left arm to his chest to feign hurt, inciting a wince from him due to the sudden movement which reminded him of his current predicament, “ I’m hurt and instead of helping me, you’re slandering me for my physique?”

“What are best friends for?” Donghyuck grinned. He moved forward to gently hold up Mark’s arm to assess the amount of damage done this time. He rolled up the sleeve of his shirt carefully, his eyes widening comically, and at any other time Mark would’ve made fun of him but it had just confirmed his fear.

“You’re getting a tattoo! That’s so cool!” Donghyuck exclaimed, not realizing how doomed Mark was gonna be.

Mark looked down at his arm, seeing the letters ‘Neve’ and the beginnings of ‘r’ written in black, neat, English, cursive. He snapped his head up at Hyuck.

“Mom’s gonna kill me.”

“No she won’t but she might kill your cooler significant other the first time they meet your parents. Now that’s what I'm here to witness!”

Huffing in annoyance, Mark pulled Hyuck by the arm to the infirmary instead of the other way round. They made it in record time. After all, there’s nothing like a tattoo to get you moving.

Mark practically bulldozed through the door, Hyuck nothing more than a sock puppet in his arms. There’s no need for formalities any longer, he had been in here so many times he started considering it his second home.

Mrs.Choi was seated behind her little table, strewn with files, bandaids, and the occasional gummy bear packet. She looked up from the book she was reading. Her unamused face was probably imprinted into his brain by now.

“What did they do this time? Jump off a tree? Fall off a bike? Get stapled again?”

“Much worse.”

“Don’t be so overdramatic bighead.” Hyuck helpfully interjected.

He displayed his ( big enough ) bicep to her, letting out a sigh in the process.

“Looks like you’ll be here for a while Mark. You know where to rest. Donghyuck, you may return to your classes now.”

Hyuck flashed him a thumbs up before leaving. It wouldn’t hurt getting a little shut-eye before his impending doom, would it? He made his way to the little bed in the corner, already feeling his eyelids getting heavy.

~

Something was poking his thigh. He tried to swat it away, though it got more insistent.

“Hyuck you’re going to annoy him if you keep at it.” Renjun’s voice rang through from somewhere nearby.

Mark tried to open his bleary eyes, immediately regretting it once the overhead lights nearly blinded him. Taking his time, he finally opened his eyes, taking in the sight of Renjun sitting on the tiny, steel stool in the corner and his worse half still at war with Mark’s leg.

Trying to muster up all the core body strength he had remaining, he struggled to get up. A bad decision, he realized as the sudden movement caused him to lurch forward.

“Woah there. I get that you’re excited to see me but you don’t have to be this eager.” Hyuck gave him a shit-eating grin.

Perhaps going back to sleep was a better option.

“I’d say nice to see you too but we both know it’s a lie.”

Renjun’s feet made incessant tapping noises, resounding across the tiny room, gathering the attention of everyone present there. He looked up at them, raising a brow in question.

“Hyuck mentioned that you got a tattoo. Can we see it?”

At that, Mrs. Choi shuffled forward in her seat to watch as well.

“I mean, I didn’t technically get it,” Mark began, rolling up his left sleeve. Anticipation hung thick in the air. “I really hope it isn’t-“

Dread filled his body. There on the inside of his left bicep, were the words ‘Never don’t give up’ in bold, slanting letters.

Never what now? This couldn’t be real. No one’s that-

What kind of uneducated moron would get those words willingly inscribed on their body? What the actual fuck was going on inside their head.

Whoever his soulmate was, he was sure he doesn’t want to meet them.

Hyuck inched his face forward; his eyes settling in on the undesired imprint on his arm. Loud guffacks echoed through the room. Renjun rushed forward to see what in the world could incite such a reaction. Mrs. Choi leaped forward to join in.

He received an assortment of stares ranging from amused to sympathetic.

The sadistic glee in Hyuck’s face should’ve served as a warning to what was to follow.

“Your soulmate’s a bigger nitwit than you are. I didn’t think it was possible.”

Renjun smacked the top of Hyuck’s head, serving as evidence as to why he was Mark’s favorite of the two. He gently picked up Mark’s hand to assess the damage done.

“You do realize that’s permanent right?”

“Yes. Yes, I do,” Mark stated quite matter of fact, “That’s exactly why I’ve lost hope that my soulmate is a normal human being.”

Mrs. Choi broke the silence, her voice laced with something akin to pity, “You can go home early if you’d like. I’ll write you a form and inform your parents of your current, um… predicament.”

Mark didn’t have much of an opinion of his other half excluding the fact that they incite quite frequent bodily harm to themselves but now he’s certain- They’re a fixer-upper to put it simply. A fixer-upper in need of some English grammar classes.

~

The fact that his soulmate got a tattoo wasn’t that surprising to him.

It was a rather common practice for people to get their addresses or phone numbers tattooed to give their soulmates an opportunity to contact them.

Mark had figured he’d someday wake up to find his partner’s number tattooed but he hadn’t considered the probability of his soulmate getting a tattoo for the fun of it. Which should’ve been obvious seeing as his so-called partner was anything but predictable.

The tattoo had proven to be a bit of a hindrance.

For one, he had to wear full sleeved shirts and hoodies every day to hide any traces of the cursed wordings. It doesn’t sound so bad but then again, it was mid-summer. Secondly, his parents thought that the misspelled tattoo was endearing rather than taking his side in his self proclaimed pity party.

His friends hadn’t made the situation any easier- Hyuck still found it to be the most entertaining thing in the world and took every chance to remind Mark of its existence. As if he could forget the thing imprinted on his very own body. Jaemin shouted out the words ‘Never don’t give up’ at random intervals throughout the day and made it his duty to include it in every one of their conversations and Jeno had supported his friend throughout his endeavors.

His only faith in humankind stemmed from Renjun, bless his soul, who lent Mark both moral support and jackets to cover up the wretched thing.

The whole ordeal took some time to get used to but after a couple of weeks, it became a fact of life that Mark had forced himself to accept. Just as the sun rose in the east, he had a dumb soulmate and an even dumber tattoo and that’s just the way life was.

Fortunately for him, he hadn’t sustained any paper cuts for 2 weeks now which was both comforting and terrifying. It was also rather odd that he’d only gotten a couple of bruises on account of his soulmate recently. Yes, it was a relief but it was also concerning as he had gotten accustomed to the bumps and cuts that had become a part of his daily routine. But the paper cuts? Fuck those.

He’d mentioned it to Jeno who brushed it off saying quote-unquote, “Maybe the dude’s on vacation. You should be rejoicing at the fact that you’re pain-free!”

It still bothered him for some reason.

~

Mark didn’t have a penchant for helping random lost students but for this one, he made an exception.

It was hard not to notice him. He towered over everyone in the hallway and commanded attention despite standing to the side. He was hunched over, reading a small sheet, which Mark presumed to be his schedule. So, he must be a new kid.

“Need some help?” He found himself asking.

The boy turned to face him. And holy shit, he was gorgeous. He was dressed in a hoodie and jeans and looked like he stepped off the cover of a GQ magazine with his tousled dark brown hair and straight nose. Mark felt a little underdressed in his shorts and boring plaid shirt.

The boy, instead of making eye contact, glanced down at his shins? He blatantly stared at them for a couple of seconds. Recognition flickered on his face, which was a little weird but Mark quickly brushed it aside when he gave him a dazzling smile, radiating mirth. He looked overjoyed to see Mark which was again, odd seeing that they just barely met. Maybe the guy was just relieved to have someone help him? Whatever it was, Mark found himself staring back at this Greek god of a being.

To prevent himself from looking like a fool, he choked out a “Hey. I’m Mark.”

“I’m Lu- sorry, Yukhei. I’m Yukhei.”

Mark felt some of his confidence return back to him after his slip-up.

“You sure? You don’t sound so certain.” He laughed.

“I’m positive! Otherwise, my whole life’s been a lie and I don’t intend to find out now.” His Korean is laced with a thick accent and his voice is joyful- Mark noted.

Yukhei glanced back down at his hands, noticing his forgotten schedule and thrust it towards Mark. “I did get a tour of this place but it’s huge and frankly I’m lost. Do you mind pointing me to my next class?” He asked with uncertainty.

They compared their schedules and coincidentally they had their next class, Literature, together.

And the little glances Yukhei sent his way during their walk there made Mark’s heart skip a beat, or two. He doesn’t mind it. Not at all.

~

He didn’t like this Lucas guy. Whoever he was.

Lunch; his favorite time of day was ruined because of him.

It was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly, bathing everyone in its rays. He was having lunch at their usual place- outside on the school lawn, trying to soak up the warmth.

It wasn’t the food that he was pissed with. No, not at all. It was the rather pesky company he was in. His friends, but by now he wasn’t sure they deserved the title- had become absolutely enthralled with the aforementioned new student in their grade.

To say it annoyed Mark was an understatement.

He should’ve been grateful, considering it was the first time in weeks he wasn’t made fun of during lunch but it still irked him.

It didn’t stop him from eavesdropping in on the conversation though.

He had to admit. Some of the rumors about him were quite something.

“I heard he got kicked out of his school back in China for smuggling in cocaine,” Jisung whispered, his eyes on the lookout for any eavesdroppers.

Jeno shook his head violently. “Don’t be absurd. He’s clearly the illegitimate son of a celebrity. He’s probably been sent here to lay low.”

From beside Mark, Renjun let out a sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s just a normal exchange student? I think we’re jumping to the wrong conclusions here.” He suggested, looking pointedly at Donghyuck for support.

Taking Renjun’s hand in his, Donghyuck began, “I mean- okay, yeah. But-“ Renjun’s eyes narrowed into slits- “there’s no harm in discussing the possibilities. I for one think he ran away from home. His face screams runaway delinquent.”

Loud thumps are heard behind them. Jaemin slammed down on the ground with all the grace of a drunk hippopotamus, which was none. It’s a miracle that his juice was still standing upright on his tray.

“What have I missed?”

“Nothing much. We’re just coming up with theories as to why the new kid transferred here in the middle of the school year,” Jeno answered, absentmindedly playing with a dandelion.

“Oh,” Jaemin scooted in closer, “I heard he and his mom moved here from Hong Kong cause his dad’s been working at some bigshot firm here for a while now.”

Hyuck stretched out his legs and scoffed, “Who’d you hear that from?”

“Lucas,” Jaemin stated matter of fact, “I asked him. We had history class together. He’s quite entertaining.”

Chenle’s eyes shone with adoration, “He’s also very handsome.”

“And cool!” Jisung added unhelpfully.

That’s it. Mark couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t believe Chenle of all people said that. Chenle, adorable Chenle who always looked up to Mark. This is what betrayal felt like. He was sure of it.

“What’s so great about him anyway?” He muttered bitterly. “He’s just some new kid. I don’t see why it’s a big deal.”

Renjun snickered, “Are you Jealous, Mark? That’s uncharacteristic of you.”

He ripped out grass.

“No! And definitely not of some guy like Lucas,” He protested. He was just curious about how he had managed to make such a big impression on his first day, that’s all. At least that’s what he told himself.

“You don’t even know him,” Jisung said.

Just in time to save him from further questioning- Yukhei walked past them, doing a double take when he noticed Mark.

Mark smiled up at him, ignoring Jisung. He was met with a breathtaking grin. Yeah, he could get used to this.

“Hey, Mark!” His loud voice boomed. He took a step closer and Mark felt his cheeks heating up. Why?

Unfortunately for him, Taewoo screamed all the way from across the lawn, gesturing wildly with his hands, catching Yukhei’s attention, “Over here, Lucas!”

Lucas?

Sighing in defeat, Yukhei or is it Lucas?- turned back to him.

“I guess I gotta go. I’ll catch you in Economics, yeah?”

Mark nodded furiously, unable to form words. His face undoubtedly red now. Yukhei let out a beautiful laugh and walked away, Mark’s eyes trailing after his retreating figure.

“Maybe you do know him?” Jisung raised his brows in question.

He braced himself mentally for the incoming interrogation session

Jaemin looked at him with concern laced in his features, “Mark, not to alarm you or anything but I think you’re getting a sunburn.”

~

It was a little unsettling.

He thought of himself as a man, he’d gone through puberty after all! And considered himself as a stable adult, he was eighteen after all.

He’d never confess to the fact that he never felt as conscious of himself as when Yukhei was around him or that he always rendered him speechless. He could control his emotions, thank you very much. That kind of stuff wasn’t how he expected to react to a new friend? But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel butterflies or some other ridiculous disgusting insect in his stomach whenever Yukhei was close to him.

Just like he felt at the present moment, in fact.

The sign-up board for clubs and events hung loomingly in front of him. He didn’t have to be here.

He knew that.

He had a class to get to.

He knew that as well.

But Yukhei had been standing in front of the board for about 3 minutes. And frankly, Mark was a little concerned.

It’s creepy, he was aware of it. He’d been staring at his back now for about the same period of time, waiting for him to make a choice, out of concern of course. But judging from Yukhei’s movement, or lack thereof, it was safe to assume that he was confused.

“It’s a tough choice,” Mark said out of the blue, trying to reduce the awkwardness. Yukhei jerked back, clearly startled by Mark’s presence.

He continued, “but, to make it easier- let just say you have 2 choices. You can either get into a funded club or one that’ll have to do with scraps. The choice is yours.”

Yukhei stared at him dumbfounded, still not having recovered. He took a second to respond, “Uh. The club with funds?”

“Then you better choose one of the sports teams. A couple have seasonal tryouts. If you’re lucky, you might get in.”

Of course, he’d get in. Mark had no doubt about it. The guy looked like he walked straight out of a sports anime.

Yukhei turned back towards the board.

“I will! I was considering signing up for basketball and now you’ve made my pick seem better.”

He filled in his name with his messy scrawl which Mark thought was quite endearing. No! He chastised himself. Finding Yukhei cute is one thing, but finding his handwriting cute? Nope. Absolutely not.

Yukhei looked at him, “You part of any club?”

“I’m the photographer for the school magazine. Nothing interesting, really.”

The bell rings and Mark cursed it to hell and back.

Yukhei picked his bag up from the floor and looked Mark straight in the eyes.

“It is interesting. Anything about you is. But in my opinion, you’re someone who deserves to be photographed, rather than being the one taking them,” he flashed him a smile, “Come on. We’ll be late.”

Maybe being speechless was another thing he would have to get used to when he was with Yukhei.

He didn’t mind.

~

Confidence is key, he reminded himself.

He walked straight up to Yukhei after one of their Literature classes, driven with aim. Yukhei paused stuffing his books vigorously in his bag and strained his neck at an awkward angle to look up at him from his seat.

Taking a deep breath, he offered, “Would you like to come to a restaurant with me? No. Not me. With my friends and I?”

“Today?” Yukhei questioned, unsure.

Mark nodded his head in reply.

“I’d love to! But-“ He scratched the back of his neck, “I have basketball practice till 5:30. I’d keep you guys waiting.”

He looked like a kicked puppy, and Mark just couldn’t help himself, “It's fine! We’ll wait. Some of the guys have clubs too. It won’t be a hassle! So, cool?”

“Definitely. See you later, Mark!”

He left with a wave, feeling giddy all of a sudden when the realization that he’d spend time with Yukhei struck. Yes, he’d also be teased to death by his friends and they’d probably embarrass him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care about it at that moment.

It had been an impromptu decision. His friends were not aware of this plan. But he figured they wouldn’t mind much, considering how much they worshipped Yukhei.

He waited patiently outside the basketball courts. The doors swung open and a stampede of teenage boys spilled out, barely avoiding trampling Mark in the process.

It took another couple of minutes for Yukhei to emerge out of the court. His hair was damp- freshly showered, Mark assumed.

“Sorry to keep you waiting! I took a shower. I didn’t want to meet your friends while smelling like a pig sty,” Yukhei explained in apology.

But Mark was too far gone in checking out Yukhei whose t-shirt clung onto him tight. He’s fit, Mark notedly dumbly- his mind going haywire. The scent of musk rolled off him in whiffs.

He realized he'd not responded to Yukhei.

“I wasn’t waiting for long. You smell good too,” he said absentmindedly.

Fuck. He wanted to take that back. He sounded creepy.

To his comfort, Yukhei chuckled, “Thanks man! I’m relieved.”

The walk to the restaurant was silent. Mark’s bag hung on Yukhei’s shoulder who’d insisted it was far too heavy for Mark to carry by himself. It wasn’t. But he appreciated the gesture.

Hyuck, Renjun, Jaemin, and Jeno were waiting inside the restaurant for them, seated at a booth at the very back. Plates of burgers and fries lying half eaten before them. And 2 empty milkshakes, courtesy of Jaemin.

Yukhei went to place an order for both of them while Mark shimmied into his seat beside Hyuck, leaving some space for Yukhei as well.

“Honestly didn’t think you would pull through,” whispered Jeno, looking over his shoulder at Yukhei. “You made me lose my bet with Jaemin.”

Before Mark could interject, Jaemin replied haughtily, “Told you he’s whipped. It’s your fault for not believing me.” He looked immensely proud of himself for having come to that conclusion.

Mark tossed away whatever scraps of dignity he had left and leaned forward towards him. “Please don’t embarrass me in front of Yukhei. Consider this the only favor I ever ask of you,” he begged, glancing at Renjun for some pretense of support.

“Don’t look at me. I can’t control these idiots.”

“We’ll consider it,” Hyuck cackled, which did not serve any purpose in reassuring Mark.

Heavy footsteps sounded to his right. Yukhei thumped over with two trays balanced precariously on his arms. He slid into the seat which Mark had left for him, unaware of the conversation that had just taken place.

He introduced himself to Hyuck and Renjun who he was meeting for the first time.

Hyuck looked over at Mark with a glint in his eye that he didn’t trust. “You don’t have to introduce yourself at this point. Mark talks enough about you that we all have the basic rundown of who you are and your general life story.”

If Mark could turn back time and kill Hyuck at the time of his birth, before he became the demon that he is now, he would. He so would. He shot him his best glare, which Hyuck pointedly ignored, due to years of practice.

“Is that so? I'm flattered honestly.” Lucas grinned at Mark. “He saved me the time and effort.”

Just when relief flooded his body, Jaemin snickered. “Well, you’ve got a lot more to feel flattered about! Mark’s been trying to actually learn the principles of basketball, which he has hasn’t ever been bothered about,” he supplied helpfully.

Mark tossed a fry at him, self-respect be damned. To his awe, Lucas seemed to be amused by the fact and fell into an easy conversation with Jaemin, who provided him with more fun Mark facts to scar him for a lifetime.

He hadn’t realized he’d been staring until Hyuck nudged him towards his forgotten burger. Lucas was dipping his fries in his milkshake along with Jeno, which should have raised some warning bells, but to Mark, it was awfully endearing.

Renjun struggled to whisper from across the table, but he managed to. “Of course you went for the dude with the questionable food combos.”

Mark felt a little defensive. “It’s not questionable. He’s just adventurous, that’s all.”

Renjun raised a brow, “Whatever you say.” He looked at Mark with sincerity in his eyes. “Just know that, whoever you choose, we’ll support you.”

He didn’t dare think of dating Yukhei when his own soulmate was somewhere out there, but he appreciated the words. He’d been confused about his own feelings for a while now, but having his friends there for him, made it a less glaring problem.

“Thank you, Renjun. That means a lot.” Renjun nodded at him and went back to dodging Hyuck’s attempts at taking a picture with him.

Mark sipped at his juice, noting that it was watermelon. He never told Yukhei to order that.

He glanced over at him and found him laughing at Jeno’s antics. Their eyes met for a moment and time seemed to freeze. Yukhei shot him that gorgeous smile of his and scooted closer while falling back into his earlier discussion. Whether that was a figment of his imagination? Mark didn’t know.

And maybe he was alright with not figuring out his feelings for a little longer. And maybe he wanted Yukhei by his side for a little longer.

~

He had considered it before.

There were a number of people who chose not to have romantic relationships with their soulmates and rather stayed strictly platonic. There were people who rather chose to control who they fell in love with, and who they dated. But Mark never had considered himself as one of the ‘Fuck the system’ types.

He found himself seriously considering it every day that he spent with Yukhei.

Yukhei with his dumb long legs and ridiculous laugh.

Yukhei who reminded him of everything good in life just with his presence. Yukhei who’d passed him notes in every literature class with horrible grammar, who tagged along with Mark whenever he was free in between classes, who’d taken his side every time Hyuck and Jaemin ganged up on him.

The same Yukhei who was now tagging along with him to take pictures of the state champion mathlete team under the guise of being a camera bag holder for Mark. His words, not Mark’s.

His job was simple, he had to take a couple of photos while the journalist asked the team a couple of questions for the school magazine. Yukhei had made it a little more entertaining.

He kept on rambling about how math competitions had to be the hardest sports tournament there was and Mark couldn’t find it in his heart to correct him that it wasn’t a sport, seeing how passionate he was about his opinion.

The shoot was stretching out for an unnecessarily long time and Mark couldn’t control himself any longer.

He turned abruptly towards Yukhei, who stepped back in surprise.

“Do you believe in soulmates?”

Yukhei scrunched up his brows in question. “Uh? Yeah, I guess-” he shrugged- “I mean, who doesn’t? But I think I’m a firm believer in it. Call me traditional.”

Oh.

But he wasn’t one to give up hope so easily. Maybe he could change Yukhei’s mind about it. Not all things are set in stone! He still had a shot, unless…

He tried again, “Did you meet them yet?”

At this, Yukhei’s eyes lit up like stars on a clear night. Mark could feel his heart shattering despite the fact that he was happy for Yukhei. “I did!! “ He looked down at his shoes. “But, the thing is- they don’t know that we’re soulmates,” he admitted shyly.

Mark found it baffling. “Why don’t you tell them then?” He might be harboring the fattest crush on Yukhei, but he also wanted him to be happy above anything else.

Yukhei looked at him like he had just spurred the most absurd thing he ever heard.

“Tell them?? They’re so out of my league it isn’t even funny at this point.”

Mark found that a little hard to believe.

Yukhei continued. “It’s just that, I want them to choose me cause of who I am, you know? Not just because they’re obligated to.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “It sounds stupid I know, but I just want them to like me without feeling forced to by the bond.”

That hit home. Definitely. “Trust me Yukhei, they’d be an idiot to not like you.”

Yukhei gave him the brightest smile he had ever seen, pearly whites and all. “You think so?? Honestly, I’m so lucky to have you.”

If only he knew.

It was bittersweet for Mark but he’d accepted this possibility a long time ago. He was snapped out of his thoughts when the mathlete captain requested a headshot.

Yukhei stood silently beside him, lost in his thoughts. It was only when Mark was packing up to leave that he spoke again. “We have the first match of the season this Friday and uh-“ he scratched the back of his neck-,” would you like to come? You’re my lucky charm after all! But you don’t have to!! It’s your choice,” he rambled.

Mark bit back the chuckle that was rising up. He did have to be there by obligation since he had to take pictures of the match in action, but he wasn’t about to burst Yukhei’s bubble. “Sure. I’ll be there. Can’t have you losing the match cause of the absence of luck, “ he quipped.

Yukhei looked relieved. “Since we’ve got that settled. Can I walk you home?”

~

The court was packed. Since the team was playing in the home court, it was packed with people wearing the boring yellow and white school colors. The chants of the school players names were resounding off the walls: ‘’Lucas’ being a fan favorite, despite it being his first game here.

Mark felt a little bad for the other team.

He saw his friends sitting high up in the bleachers, holding a ridiculously oversized banner for Yukhei. He felt a little proud too.

It wasn’t long before the players entered the court, running in a perfect arc which he couldn’t process, given their general disposition. Mark absentmindedly took a couple shots of the whole team, while scanning the familiar faces for Yukhei, and when he did spot him, he took a couple of candids cause he was clearly biased.

Yukhei was the power forward, which Mark had to look up online. All he understood was, he was responsible for scoring the baskets, which he guesses is important.

Yukhei caught his eye and gave him a little wave, which Mark captured on camera too.

The game started shortly after the cheer and Mark lost himself in taking close-ups of the star players in action. He gathered that their school was on the offensive from the overhead commentary from the speakers. It also meant that Yukhei was moving far too fast for Mark to truly understand what was going on.

“And would you look at that? The away team is using man to man defense. A clever strategy if I do say so myself,” echoed from the commentator’s box.

Yukhei was being followed by a huge, burly guy who shouldn’t practically be able to move that swiftly and Mark was scared shitless. Yukhei did manage to score quite a few three-pointers and a couple of slam dunks.

The court was a flurry of movement and Mark did his best to follow the action with his lens.

It was halftime before he knew it and the score was a respectable 37-25, the former being their score. He did his very best ( he swears) to not stare at Yukhei while also reminding himself that they’re just friends. He also very pointedly chose to ignore Yukehi chugging water like his life depended on it, only taking pictures again when the team was discussing tactics.

The match resumed and their team was on the defense this time.

It allowed him to take better photos and he wasn’t one to complain when he was given an advantage. He was busy trying to adjust his aperture when he heard it – “Airball! Wait it’s heading towards the forward.”

He looked up to see the ball hitting Yukhei straight on his forehead and the next thing he knew- Mark was on the floor with a sharp, thumping pain in his forehead and bleary eyes.

He struggled to make out the frenzy in front of him, but he also saw Yukhei in a similar predicament on the court floor.

NO FUCKING WAY.

The pain was replaced with overwhelming relief threatening to consume him. Yukhei knew. He knew from the start. Yukhei is his- Yukhei is his soulmate. Yukhei got that dumb tattoo. The tattoo which was peeking out slightly from the edge of Yukhei’s sleeve.

Wait.

YUKHEI’S THE DUMBASS WHO GOT THAT CLUSTERFUCK OF A TATTOO.

Yukhei was slowly getting up with the help of his teammates and a substitute was already about to enter the court. The relief quickly turned into annoyance and he didn’t notice Hyuck running up to him.

Mark picked up his (still intact) camera and got up with the help of Hyuck’s steady hands, a scenario that was way too familiar to him.

“You okay?” Mark nodded at him, still dazed. “Well, you better be, you’ve got another thing coming buddy. You realize that’s the idiot right? Hyuck questioned him. He nodded again, unable to form words.

Yukhei ran up to him from the court, clutching a hand to his head. He was sporting a bright red Canada shaped bump on his forehead, one he was sure he had too.

“I’m going to let you handle this one, “ Hyuck said, slowly backing away. Bless his soul, he knew when to step down.

“I can explain!” Yukhei pleaded.

Honestly, all Mark wanted an explanation for, was that abomination on his arm. He took Yukhei’s hand, clutching his camera in the other and nudged him towards the doors, “Let’s go to the infirmary first.”

They walked in tandem, Yukhei opening his mouth ever so often, unspoken words hanging heavy between them.

Mark couldn’t handle the silence any longer. He stopped abruptly, halting both of them.

“Why that tattoo?”

Yukhei looked at him as if it were the most obvious thing ever. “I got it to celebrate moving here, you see. I wanted to be reminded to never lose hope and to keep moving forward.”

He’s got to give the boy credit, it was cute. Great taste, awful execution indeed.

He didn’t want to rain on Yukhei’s imaginary parade, so he decided to explain the semantics of that sentence later, including a very thorough lecture on English grammar.

“How’d you know though?”

“Your shin, Mark. That scar is glaringly obvious.”

The walk to the infirmary was relatively silent after that. Neither of them knew how to breach the topic of soulmates right now. Not with a throbbing bump on their foreheads and the realization of it all, just setting in.

Mrs. Choi looked surprised to see him for once. “You’re back!” She then took in the sight of Yukhei next to him.

She was about to make a comment when her eyes widened comically. She stared, quite brazenly at the matching bumps and then got up to wordlessly fetch two ice packs from the mini-fridge.

Mrs. Choi tossed one at Yukhei and then handed mark his. “Is he the- infamous clumsy bastard?” he said without batting an eyelid. Well, it was Mark after all who endowed his soulmate with that nickname while ranting to her.

Yukhei shot him an amused look while holding up his ice pack to his bruise, giving Mark some relief as well.

“Yeah. Yeah, it is,” Mark supplied.

“Good. At least now you can ensure that he doesn’t get into any more messes. But I guess its too late to say that now, considering the reason you’re here,” she tsked.

“I intend to do so by all means. This time was an accident, “ he protested, hearing Yukhei laugh from behind him.

“Whatever you say, honey, ” she shot back, not buying a word of his bullshit.

Yukhei only spoke up again when they were heading out the school doors, not seeming to care about who won the match, they ungraciously left. ”Now that you know, what’d you think about a date?” He looked at him expectedly, a hint of red dotting his cheeks and up his neck.

Mark only had one objective in mind at that moment, and he’d get it done even if it was the last thing he did.

“Sure. I have a fun idea in mind.” He craned his neck to look Yukhei straight in the eye. “We’re getting you a cover-up tattoo.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you've made it this far, Thank you for taking the time to read this! It means a lot <3


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